2017 Columbus Crew SC Report Card: Week 8
Team Grade:
Before we issue the match grade, let’s chat about what led us to our final conclusion.
Ouch, that hurt:
A shut out loss any other week may see a much more harsh grade, but with two major injuries derailing the match, credit has to be given to Columbus for hanging tough and keeping the Red Bulls at bay in the second half.
With that said, there’s not a whole lot to analyze from this week’s performance. Two subs being burnt in the first half killed any kind of recovery game plan head coach Gregg Berhalter could have pulled out in the second half. Losing Artur and Crognale for a significant time will be costly.
Final Thoughts:
In a sport where over-reacting is a norm, it was chilling to watch a real injury go down. You could tell Artur was really hurting within seconds.
Crew SC fell to second in the conference with this loss, which is tough for fans after a strong start to the year. Orlando City now sits at the top of the table with two less matches played than the majority of the conference.
Next: Speaking of oddities, Minnesota won. Read about it here!
Final Grade: C
Let’s be generous and stick Columbus with a straight down the middle score for the oddity of a matchup we witnessed this weekend. Crew SC will host that other New York club in week nine, and let’s see if they can get back to winning then.